The School of Dragon Riders

1

Blood distorted my vision-it flowed all around me. Unable to move, I tried to make out my surroundings. I couldn't feel the blood; I simply knew it was there.

Suddenly, my vision cleared and I could see the chaos unfolding around me. My gaze flew across a rocky cliff side, with the sea crashing on the rocks. A nice view, you must think. However, I saw anything but nice, because dead bodies covered the dull, dirty ground, turning the green grass red. The sight was far from pleasing, so I tried to look away, just to find out that I couldn’t. Could this have been a dream sent by the famous Dragon Riders to punish me for playing tricks on the village folk? I admit it, I like tricking people. I am called mean and evil for doing so, but it is all the fun and adventure that I can get. Scaring them a bit is rather like a hobby to me, like shouting that we are under attack in the middle of the night. However, I couldn’t imagine that what was happening was really punishment for my pranks. That was impossible, so I concentrated on the battlefield, trying to find the meaning in what was happening before me. Just then, I noticed living beings. On one side of the clearing were Ogres, bloody and weary from a battle. On the other side, Humans. They were bloody and tired looking as well. Everyone knew about the war that we humans had with Ogres. I still didn't understand why we had to fight so much- I was sure that peace could be found. Nevertheless, as adults told me repeatedly, it was none of my concern and I should stay out of it.

Suddenly, a battle cry was heard from the biggest Ogre, whom I assumed was their commander. He said something in their language. I didn't speak Ogre, and I never knew anyone who did, so to me it was just a series of growls and shouts. Humans roared as well and various shapes began filling the sky. Dragons. I heard stories about Dragon Riders, so seeing them in a dream was truly remarkable. I never saw a dragon myself, though there aren’t that many Riders and they are usually at the School or at war. The size of the dragons didn’t vary a lot, but they had different colourings and markings. I saw blue, white, yellow, red, and many other colours. From what I knew about dragons from stories, they were all strong, clever, and could spit fire. Some of them were faster, some were stronger, and some were smarter, but it had nothing to do with the colour.

As the two clouds of dragons were about to collide, I heard a voice.

"Medea, wake up!"

Suddenly I was jerked away from the interesting dream to find myself safe and warm in my bed. It was a little before dawn and my father was calling me. I have no mother, since she died when I was young, too young even to remember her. Why would my father wake me up so early? Then I remembered. It was the choosing day. You see, each year, in every village in the Human Kingdom, Dragon Riders come to test children my age, which is 14, for magic. There is a magic stone, and if you have magic, it shines when you touch it. There are many magical abilities. My mother was a Dragon Rider and she had Mind. Some people have an Element when they are born, some even two, and a test is done to see which one they have when they get to the School. There are four Basic Elements, which are the most common: water, fire, earth, and wind. Powerful casters could control ice as well as water, or create large hurricanes with their wind powers. The advanced Elements are Darkness, which allows the caster to turn invisible or create shadows. If they are powerful, they can even summon dark creatures, which is the rarest. Then there is Mind, which allows the caster to read people's minds, make them forget, and if powerful, control them. Next is Light, which mostly involves healing, and last are the Shape Shifters, who can shift into different animals and is another rare Element.

I groaned as I slid my aching legs out of bed. All afternoon the day before, I was running from angry kids. They were angry with me because I had hidden their toys. In spite of them being younger, I couldn't win a fight against them. I was outnumbered, and I wasn't that good at fist fights, so I preferred running instead of fighting.

"Good morning, Father. I haven't had the chance to ask you about your day yesterday evening. So, tell me now," I said. I hoped that he didn't find out about my little joke. I tried sounding casual, but I realized I was being too formal.

“It was fine, if we pretend that some parents didn’t come to me complaining that you hid their children's toys.” I let out a hoarse and forced laugh.

“I hid them close to their houses. They have probably found them by now, unless they are complete idiots,” I said as I ate my breakfast, which was nothing special, just some eggs. My father sighed.

“You really need to stop doing that. I don't understand what you find so amusing and satisfying about hiding other kids’ toys. Right now, though, you need to hurry, because the choosing begins at dawn. Dress nicely. I have to go the workshop now, but I'll see you after the ceremony,” he said as he left the house. I finished my breakfast and went back into my small room. I chose black leather pants with a formal green and black shirt. I liked the forest very much, so I wore green a lot. The forest represented freedom and it was beautiful. I also wore black, simply because I just like black.

After getting ready, I slid out of the house, closing and locking the door behind me. My sister was there waiting for me. Yes, I have a sister, and her name is Tanya. She is the good one, helping children find the toys that I hide. She is also stronger than I am, and she gives me quite a beating if I go too far with my jokes. Nevertheless, she loves me and takes care of me. She is only a few months older than I am, but acts as if she is the one in charge. Kids love her, and I don't despise her, just find her a bit annoying. We don't look alike at all. I have straight black hair and dark eyes, and I'm a bit small, but fast and agile. My nose is just a little too big. Tanya is big and strong with clear blue eyes and curly blonde hair, and she is really pretty. We are very different in personality as well, with her being the good one and me being the bad one. I really didn't mind my status, for the younger kids respected me, while Tanya was just loved.

"Good morning. You overslept again, but we won't be late if we hurry. I have a good feeling about this," Tanya said. She is an optimist and thus had a good feeling about everything. I was the realist in the family. Let's face it, I am the smarter one.

"I can take care of myself, you know. We won't be late. I'm sad to say that Jordan might be a little late, since he can't go out without shoes," I said as we started to go towards the village centre. At my words, Tanya stopped, so I had to stop as well. I narrowed my eyes, looking at her. She looked a bit angry.

"What did you do now, Medea?" She asked, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt. We never got along well.

“Calm down! He left them near the lake, so I put them on a tree yesterday. I'm sure he'll find them,” I said. Tanya growled and threw me to the ground. I felt a sudden pain in my back, but it disappeared quickly, as always. Throwing me around was Tanya's hobby. I paid her back by using my mind, of course, since I couldn't use force against her. Maybe I'll trip her when she is called to touch the stone, I decided. Not exactly the most intelligent payback, but it would do. I got up, shooting her a glare.

We continued, and I was silent the whole way. I tried to think of a good thing to do when her name is called, but I couldn't think of anything at the moment.

When we approached the village centre, I noticed that many of the children were already assembled. I dragged Tanya away from the others, not wanting their little revenge plans to ruin this day. Some of them were shooting me a mean look, which I didn't like. At the centre of the assembled kids stood two men. Between them was a lot of space that I assumed was made so their dragons would have a place to land when they called them. I felt excited at a chance to see dragons that weren't just in a dream. There weren't many kids my age in the village, around 25 at the most, so there was enough space for everyone to see everything and be able to breathe. After about five minutes, one of the men stepped forward, clearing his throat for attention.

"Hello, children of Stone Tooth! You all know the reason you are here. In my hand, I'm holding the magic stone. As you know, it shines blue if the person touching it has magic. That one is even rarer. And-" he was interrupted by a boy running towards the centre. It was, of course, Jordan. He looked as if he had gotten ready in a hurry. No idea why. He was gasping for breath as he approached the two men.

"She," he said, pointing at me while trying to catch his breath, “hid my shoes.” His voice was filled with anger, and the next thing I knew, he was launching himself at me. I dodged his attempt to land on me and he fell to the ground. Almost everyone was laughing, except for him and Tanya. Tanya grabbed me by my shirt collar. Another one of her hobbies.

“Medea, apologize,” my sister demanded.

“No, he was the one to attack me.”

"I'm warning you..."

“I’m not afraid of you.”

The man lifted Jordan off the ground and put him next to a few boys far away from me, and breaking our argument.

"Well, let’s continue, hopefully with no more interruptions,” he said, looking at me. I shrugged. I didn't remember hiding anyone else's shoes, so there should be no more interruptions caused by my mischief. “As I said, you will come and touch the stone. I will call you by your name. When all is over, the chosen will remain here and the others will go home,” he said. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and called the first name.

"Marcy Argall," he called. She was the only one with the last name starting with A. After her were Tanya and I. Marcy stepped forward, shaking a bit. I liked tricking her a lot, because she is quiet as a mouse and does nothing about it. She touched the stone, but nothing happened.

"Thank you, Marcy. Now, Medea Beroast.” My time, finally. I stepped forward, trying to look confident while I was feeling like a mouse. I approached the stone and touched it. For a second, nothing happened, but then the stone began to shine blue. Everyone gasped. Not me, though. I was too shocked to make a sound.

"Medea here has an Element. Go back to the line, Medea, and let go of that stone,” he said, as I realized that I was still standing with my hand touching the stone. I walked back to Tanya who hugged me. I could tell that she was extremely happy for me. She was the most unselfish person in the world. For that reason, I decided not to trip her as she was called. Again, nothing happened for a second, but her stone shined blue. Tanya came back and hugged me again.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur. There were only five of us at the end. Luckily, none of them was my enemy. When everyone except us left, the men smiled widely.

"Welcome! You are now officially the Chosen Ones! Tomorrow, at dawn, we will wait for you here. Then we will fly directly to the school. There is no need to bring anything with you. You will choose your clothes at the school. You will have a large selection from which to choose. When you get there, you will get your dragon. You will walk down a hallway full of eggs, one by one. If an egg starts moving a bit, it means that the dragon inside has chosen you to be his or her Rider. You’ll be told more about that when we arrive.

“On your second day at the School, you will be tested to see which Element you have. After that, you will be given a mentor to train you. Again, more about that will be revealed to you once we get to the school. Go home now, say your goodbyes, and be happy!”